Going Nomad |
Well yes and no. Still a lover of the sea and one who finds calm and peace in it, but yesterday I found something else too. Yesterday I found an enormous sealion swimming around and underneath me and nudging my calf. It happened between the pier and the buoy, where I feel a little vulnerable at the best of time; the water is deep and often choppy there, with (also often) a strong pull north bound and with no immediate 'out.' I was nearing the buoy and, as usual, very much in my 'zone.' Swimming is somewhat meditative for me, I swim away in a steady rhythm, only to break it to look for the buoy or the far tip of Texada Island when I lose sight of the buoy in the waves. So I am swimming along, feeling all peaceful and calm as per my being the thalassophile that I am, and then I watched, at first in disbelief, this enormous animal swim underneath me, so close that it nearly touched me. It swam underneath me diagonally, from my right hip to my left shoulder. I wondered, did I actually see that? Was it really there? I stopped swimming to look around and see if I could locate it when I felt a nudge on my right calf. It was really there alright.
In distance I am not too far out, but it feels far. I am close to the buoy, a ways away from the pier and even further away from the beach. Now, the sealions that we have here, Steller Sealions are huge; males weight around 1000kg and are around 11 feet long. Later that day, many of my European friends and family would wave it off, saying "Oh, he probably was just curious." I'd hiss back at them, "Well you try to be chill when a 1500lbs, 11 foot long monstrosity takes a keen interest in you! You see these animals only in the zoo. What do you know? " Anyhow, I am starting to freak out now. The sealion isn't going anywhere. He likes what he sees. I start wondering if he's thinking snack time. My swim group is far away, close to the shore, but they know something is off, I can tell. I see Sherry between me and the group, she has been watching ever since he, unbeknownst to me, started circling me. She is waving and yelling, but I cannot make out what she is trying to say through my hood. I frantically start swimming toward the pier, thinking I'll just scramble up the rocks, away from this really interested animal. I see Sherry swimming toward me, making the most selfless decision to approach me and said sealion to help me out. I feel the sealion near my feet. Sherry and I reach one another. Thankful for her presence, I swim close to her. We kick up a lot of water, trying to make ourselves look as big as possible, with the sealion still in tow for quite some time. We reach the group and the beach. Normally I feel cold and rush home to warm up after a swim but this time I sat on a log in the sun for some time, processing what had just happened.
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